VANCOUVER -- When Arthur Caldicott first heard of a proposed natural gas pipeline from Washington State to Vancouver Island, his first concern was safety.

He lives in Cobble Hill, about 45 kilometres north of Victoria on Vancouver Island, and close to where the proposed pipeline would come ashore.

But as he learned more about the pipeline, and about the natural-gas-fired electricity plants it would feed, his concerns multiplied.

They now range from worry over how emissions from the plants could affect air quality to whether the added electricity from the plants is actually needed in the first place.

"The project isn't just a tube of steel -- it is a strategy that includes a pipeline and a couple of plants," says Mr. Caldicott, a computer consultant and a member of the Georgia Strait Crossing (GSX) Concerned Citizens Coalition, a group that is lobbying against the proposed pipeline. "And that strategy has an impact on a whole variety of levels."

The debate over the GSX has been percolating for several years, with critics like Mr. Caldicott questioning the proposals put forth by provincially owned British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority.

Earlier this month, the provincial Liberal government launched an Energy Task Force, and said the province would have a new energy policy by February, 2002.

Some say that could mean the GSX project is in for renewed scrutiny.

"I would expect that absolutely everything is under review," said Mark Jaccard, a professor at Simon Fraser University in Victoria and former chairman of the B.C. Utilities Commission.

In a recently published paper, Prof. Jaccard criticized B.C. Hydro's long-range planning, and wrote that the utility's plans for natural-gas-fired plants expose it to risks that include unpredictable fuel costs.

Mr. Caldicott hopes the task force will review the GSX proposal, although he notes the project has not been put on hold while the group is working on its report to government.

Several parts of the project, including pipeline segments in Canada and the United States and a proposed plant in Port Alberni, are in various stages of the regulatory approval process.

B.C. Hydro says Vancouver Island faces an electricity crunch by 2007 or sooner, and a new pipeline and up to three natural-gas-fired electricity plants on the island are the best way to get new electricity to the region.

The island gets about 80 per cent of its supply from the mainland on a system of aging submarine cables.

We have some green [energy], but not enough; there is definitely hydro [potential] but it is more expensive at the moment on an overall basis," said Kelly Lail, who directs resource management at B.C. Hydro.

B.C. Hydro, with partner Williams Gas Pipeline of Houston, Tex., has applied to build a $260-million pipeline that would ship natural gas from the supply hub at Sumas, Wash., to Vancouver Island. Williams Gas Pipeline is a unit of Williams Cos. Inc. of Tulsa, Okla.

The pipeline would supply natural gas to an existing plant at Campbell River, and to another proposed facility in Port Alberni. A third plant could also be considered in the future.

Mr. Caldicott's group claims it would make more sense to repair the existing cables, to emphasize conservation and to focus on renewable sources of electricity, such as wind, to meet future demand.

B.C. Hydro says it is exploring green alternatives, but the reliability and size of such resources are not sufficient to meet growing demand on the island.

Mr. Lail also said the cost of repairing submarine cables and upgrading other facilities to meet demand would far exceed the cost of the GSX proposal.